Unity is from the Holy Spirit and begins in our thinking . . .

The verse for today’s devotional reading connects worship and obedience to the ear of God . . .

We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him. (John 9:31)

Yesterday I didn’t feel particularly obedient but was focused on worship. Our church service, particularly the sermon, pointed to unity. God is the source of unity — and as members of His Body, we need to remember our part in maintaining it. As we sang the last couple of songs, I thought, “We should be holding hands." Our attendance is around 500 people and I didn’t think all of them would have that idea. However, as our youth pastor came to the front to close in prayer, he said, “This may seem strange, but I want you to do something different as we end this remarkable service; I want you to join hands.”

For me, that was an ‘amen’ on the service. God’s Spirit provides the unity; we just need to listen to Him and do what He says. He spoke to me, and maybe others, and certainly to the youth pastor to demonstrate this simple show of unity, something God has given to our church yet we must never take for granted. What a blessing!

Tozer reminds me again that our worship must be in the Spirit and in truth. We cannot leave either out of it for that makes worship impossible, heat with no light or doctrinally correct but cold. That lovely day would have been spoiled if the truth had been spoken and sang by people who did not care.

Tozer adds that when a person is yielded to God, believes the truth of God, and is filled with the Spirit of God, even his faintest whisper will be worship. However, if I harbor elements in my life that displease to Him, I cannot truly worship God on Sunday or Monday, or any other time. My life needs to be kept on short accounts with Him, every day of the week.

^^^^^^^^^

Lord Jesus, You have given me the Holy Spirit. He does the work of unifying my heart with Your heart and with the hearts of Your people. I cannot enjoy the latter if the first unity is not in place. Yesterday, You put the same thought in my head as You put in the youth pastor’s mind. That gave me a strong sense of unity with him, not that we need to think the same to be united, but in this situation, it worked that way. I also noted that listening to and sharing with others afterwards seemed to be easier — because we are all part of the same Body and have the same care and love for one another. It was a good day. Thank You.

Our good God hears and answers prayer

The Bible has much instruction concerning prayer. The basics include these truths . . .  

One, God hears my prayers.

Two, He always answers in one of three ways: Yes, No, or Wait.

Three, if the answer is No, then it is either not His will for me, or I am blocking the answer with unconfessed sin in my life.

When I read a passage about prayer, it points to at least one of those basics. The following words from Jesus point to the fact that God will give me what is good according to His will.

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:7–11)

Today, Chambers says this passage illustrates prayer as a “good child asking for a good thing.” While it is true that these instructions are for His children, and that confessing our sin is important, this is not what the passage says. Several other passages fit his theme much better:

“If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.” (Psalm 66:18)

“Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.” (Isaiah 59:1–2)

“We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him.” (John 9:31)

“You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.” (James 4:3)

I can pray very selfish prayers, ignoring sinful behavior like spats with other people, pride in myself, defiance toward God’s commands, greed, and all sorts of unconfessed junk. When I pray without paying attention to those things, God has a priority: clear them up first. (See 1 John 1:9)

However, I can also pray with uncertainty. Does God care about what I need? Will He give me something good? If I ask that His will be done, will He bring total misery into my life?

If I am praying with those questions and fears, perhaps I need to confess a lack of faith, or a lack of believing the promises of God. Regardless of the need for humility, in these verses from Matthew, Jesus addresses those fears. He assures me that God knows how to give good things to His children. This means that God loves me and is looking out for me. If I ask for anything that is good for me, He will make sure that I get what is good for me.

Of course it can take years to learn what I should be asking for — especially when my old nature always wants something that I think is good. That is why the Bible tells me to trust Him when I pray. He knows what I need even before I ask, and even better, He promises to answer — with whatever is good for me.